The Solera system | SherryNotes Published on August 28th, 2013 | by Ruben 10 The Solera system Sherry has a unique and rather complex system of maturation using a large number of casks and fractional blending. This system is called solera and it is used in the production of all types of sherry, dry or sweet. It is also commonly used for Spanish brandy , sherry vinegar , Madeira wines and occasionally other drinks like whisky or beer. While the base idea is always fractional blending, we’ll now focus on how it is applied in sherry. Soleras and criaderas Barrels in a solera are arranged in different groups or tiers, called criaderas or nurseries. Each scale contains wine of the same age. The oldest scale, confusingly called solera as well, holds the wine ready to be bottled. When a fraction of the wine is extracted from the solera (this process is called the saca), it will be replaced with the same amount of wine from the first criadera, i.e. the one that is slightly younger and typically less complex. This, in turn, will be filled up with wine from the second criadera and so on.

The last criadera, which holds the youngest wine, is topped up with a new wine named sobretabla. Taking away part of the wine and replacing it with the contents of other scales, is called rociar or to wash down. Solera system A saca (taking out part of the old wine) and rocío (replenishing the casks) will usually take place several times a year, but the actual number may vary and specific figures are rarely disclosed. In Jerez, a Fino solera will be resfreshed two to four times a year. In Sanlúcar de Barrameda, due to the higher activity of the flor, a Manzanilla solera can easily have six to ten sacas a year. By law there is a maximum of 35% that can be taken out, but normally between 10 and 15% of the 500-550 litre capacity of the butts will be taken out and refreshed. A bit less in Manzanilla soleras. Note that it is not common for wine to be drawn off from all the casks of a solera at the same time – this is usually spread out over time.

Origins of the solera system The solera system is believed to have originated in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the second half of the 18th century. Prior to this, all sherries were bottled as añadas or vintages, a concept that was still widely in use until the 20th century. Some of the oldest soleras still in use are now at Osborne (Capuchino laid down in 1790 and Sibarita in 1792), El Maestro Sierra (1830), Valdespino (1842) and Gonzalez Byass (1847). Organisation of a solera Although a solera is usually represented as layers of casks stacked upon each other, with the solera level at the bottom of the pile (hence the name, suelo = floor), this is only the case for smaller soleras, or in bodegas where tours are being held. Usually barrels are stacked in blocks of casks rather than actual rows. We are talking about potentially hundreds of casks here, so sometimes a whole room is filled with just one criadera. Some of the largest soleras are even distributed over different buildings.

Apart from the size of some soleras, there are two technical reasons behind this distribution: firstly, stability can be problematic when more than three or four casks are placed on top of each other, and secondly, it is better to place Fino and Manzanilla casks near the floor, where it is cooler, and oxidative types of sherry towards the top. The number of tiers between the solera and the last criadera, varies largely and depends on the style of the wine and the preferences of the bodega. In general, Manzanilla and Fino soleras will have more criaderas than those of Oloroso and other oxidatively aged sherry, and in general older wines will have less criaderas. A typical Fino solera will range between three and seven criaderas. A Manzanilla solera will have at least nine criaderas, up to twenty. Age of a solera It is impossible to give the exact age of a wine that has been aged in a solera, as it is a blend of many vintages. It is only possible to give an approximate, average age of the wine.

This is determined by the number of criaderas, the typical percentage of each saca, and the frequency of the saca. The combination of these factors defines the rotation of the total stock of wine and allows us to estimate the average age. A wine bottled from a solera that was started ten years ago will have wine that is ten years old blended with wine that is nine, eight, seven… up to three years old. By law, sherry must reach an average age of 3 years before it can be sold, but in reality most are much older than that. When bottled, the age of all sherries must be assessed by a group of tasters from the Consejo Regulador, the governing body of the Jerez D.O., who will reject any wine if it deems to be too immature. They are also the ones who grant the VOS and VORS labels by assessing the flavour profile. Note that in the past it was common to prominently mention the foundation year of the solera, often leading to confusion with consumers who think this is the vintage of the wine. In theory a bottle of solera wine will contain a drop from the foundation year but the average age of the entire contents will be significantly lower.

Though most producers now avoid it, some current-day names are still on the edge, e.g. Gonzalez Byass Solera 1847. While we said earlier that the highest criadera is topped up with young wine, premium soleras that hold very old wines will be washed down with soleras of similar style, i.e. already mature wine brought to a certain state of aging outside of the solera. This way, a solera can also be expanded by bringing casks to a required state before adding them to the system. Purpose of a solera The most significant result of the solera system is ensuring continuity and consistency. By blending multiple vintages, the possible variability of each year will be lowered and – after a certain amount of years – the bottled wine will maintain a constant average age. New wines are only gradually introduced to the system, and the influence of the new wine will disappear as it takes on the characteristics of the older sherry quite rapidly. Furthermore, the solera system is essential for biological ageing under flor since every refreshment brings in young wine that contains the necessary micro-nutrients to support the yeast.

Without this regular nutritional input, the layer of flor will die and the sherry will continue its maturation in an oxidative way. Note that the new wine is never poured in directly from the top, it is introduced in the cask gently and always underneath the film of flor without damaging it. To sum up, a solera is essentially a never-ending ageing system, gradually but slowly growing older. Once mature and maintained in a proper way, it will show a unique personality, the identity of the solera. Tags: criadera , rocio , saca , sobretabla , solera About the Author Ruben fell in love with sherry fifteen years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium.

I also run a whisky blog over at Related Posts How Sherry is Produced How Sherry is Produced Enjoying Sherry Contact Us FREE CALL 1800 069 295 Outside Australia 613 9848 1153 sales@nicks.com.au Store Location Biggest online range in Australia We taste & rate most of what's on this site How Sherry is Produced The Harvest In the month of September the green stalk connecting each bunch of grapes to the vine darkens and the grapes themselves "surrender", turning soft and sweet. There is no exact date for beginning the harvesting, because it depends on the maturity of the grapes which must be at least 10.5º baume. The harvest lasts approximately twenty days, usually from the end of August to mid-September. The "cutting" of the bunches is usually carried out manually so that the grapes arrive at the 'lagar' or winepress in optimal conditions. To this end, plastic boxes with a capacity no greater than 18kg. (40 lb) are used. When full, they are then stacked in order to ensure that the fruit is not damaged during its trip from the fields to the winepress.

Grapes to produce dry wines are quickly transported to the wine-making plants. On the other hand, those to be made into sweet wines, especially Pedro Ximenez and Muscat grapes, are set out in the open air on esparto grass mats to raise their sugar content while lowering their moisture content by evaporation. During this process, the grapes are covered at night to protect them against the dew. The length of time of this operation continues depends upon climatic conditions and may last more than one week. The Pressing Once in the winery, the grapes are unloaded onto conveyor belts where stems, leaves, and unsuitable bunches are discarded in order to reduce tannin. The suitable grapes then pass into machines that crush them gently to open up the berries skins. The grapes then pass directly to the presses where, through the light application of pressure, the "mosto de yema" (first must) is obtained. This process yields 70 Iitres of must per I00 kg of grapes. Only the must from this first pressing will be used to produce Sherry Wines. The wine houses usually carry out further, more energetic, pressings to extract the remaining liquid from the grapes.

The juice from these medium and higher-pressure extractions can never be used in the production of Sherry although it can be used, under the watchful eye of the Regulatory Council, to produce other wines which are not classified as Sherry, as well as for distillation or for obtaining other sub-products. The Palomino Grape gives must that is low in acidity, typically at a pH range of 3.5-3.7, but it can be as high as 4.0. Correction of acidity is commonly used to bring the pH to ~3.2 (or 4.5 g/l before fermentation. Traditionally this was done by addition of Yeso (plaster or gypsum). This is basically calcium sulfate, which reacts with potassium hydrogen tartrate in the must to generate (soluble) potassium sulfate, precipitating calcium tartrate and releasing tartaric acid. Tartaric acid is usually used directly when acidification is needed. Of course, the main need to increase acidity was due to the picking of very ripe grapes, and with better means now available to assess maturity, it is possible to pick grapes before they lose acidity.

Fermentation The "mosto de yema" (first must) obtained from the pressing goes directly into vertical stainless steel tanks to be fermented, a temperature-controlled process which takes place at between 22°C and 24ºC. Fermentation used to be performed by natural yeasts, but growers are now adding cultivated yeasts. There is an increasing tendency to include flor yeasts in the yeast preparation used to seed fermentation. This improves the chances for getting development of a good flor cover immediately after fermentation. Temperature-controlled fermentation also makes it possible to select a lower temperature in order to direct the path toward Fino production, or a slightly (3°) higher temperature to favour Oloroso production. The temperatures in either case are higher than would be usual for a white table wine. The basic idea here is not to produce a fruit-driven wine, but to make a base wine with good extract and low acidity that can mature in the solera system. Some Houses still practice the old system of fermenting in new oak barrels or "botas", with the dual purpose of preparing the casks for later use in the long Sherry ageing process and at the same time achieving a characteristic vinification of the must.

The fermentation process in the Jerez Region is divided into two clearly differentiated stages. In the first days the so-called "stormy" or "tumultuous" fermentation process takes place during which more than 90 per cent of the total sugar contained in the grape is converted into ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. After this first phase, there is a second, slow stage, lasting until the beginning of December after which a delicate, totally dry white wine with an alcohol content of between 11 and 12% vol. is obtained, whose characteristic will determine its classification before entering the ageing process. In this classification the taster's sense of smell and taste are essential guides; this is the decisive moment at which a new wine's suitability for a particular Sherry type is determined. The first classification of Sherry Wines takes place before the must is racked off lees (sediment deposited during fermentation). The first cold days of Winter help to precipitate all of the solid particles to the bottom of the vats and the wine becomes clean and transparent, with an alcohol content of between 11 to 12% vol.

The Mystery of the "Flor" Wine tasters now sample all of the individual butts and take the first of many important decisions which will determine the type of ageing which that year's different wines will undergo. Some of the palest, lightest wines that are clean to the nose with outstanding aroma will be set aside for ageing "bajo flor", under a veil of "flor", in order to produce FINO and MANZANILLA styles of Sherry. Other wines, also clean on the nose and palate, but with more body will be classified as OLOROSOS. The wines classified as Finos or Manzanillas will be fortified with wine-distillate (pure alcohol (96%), added over a period of hours so as not to have an abrupt effect) to bring their alcohol content up to 15% vol. while those destined to become Olorosos will be fortified to 17% or slightly higher, according to each houses' individual style. These different levels of fortification and alcohol content will determine the type of development undergone by the wines in the next phase of their ageing.

The wines, with their new alcohol content, are transferred to typical oak barrels called butts, or "botas" for the first stage of their ageing known as "sobretablas". Different to other wine regions were the wines age in hermetically sealed vessels in order to prevent their oxidation, the ageing process for Sherry and Manzanilla takes place in 600 litre American oak butts which are filled to 5/6 of their capacity, leaving a volume of air inside the butt "two fists high". The next development of Sherry is determined by whether flor (meaning flower) forms on the surface of the wine. The thicker the layer of Flor, [as pictured right in a special cut-away barrel] the drier and finer the style of Sherry. In the case of Finos and Manzanillas - at 15º - the veil of "flor" remains constant an all of the wine's free surface inside the butt. This flor 'veil' is formed by live yeasts belonging to the genus Saccharomyces ellipsoideus, (in particular S. beticus, S. cheresiensis and S.

rouxii) The Beticus is usually the strongest (it is encouraged by heat and predominates, especially in Jerez). These yeasts have the unusual property of living in alcohol levels above 15%. The flor forms as soon as fermentation is completed and the wine is racked off the lees. The flor grows on alcohol, glycerol, and other nutrients provided by the wine. The proaerobic; because it requires oxygen, the flor yeasts live at the surface where they form a protective cap that prevents oxidation of the wine. During this time, the yeasts are interacting constantly with the wine, consuming its alcohol and other nutrients and endowing it with its characteristic aromas and flavours. This type of ageing process is known as "crianza biologica" or biological ageing. Yeast in the flor layer are continually dying (the dead cells fall to the bottom of the cask) and being replaced by new growth. (The butts in a Fino Solera have to be cleaned out every 25 years or so because of the accumulation.) Sometimes, in the case of Fino or Manzanilla wines which are aged biologically, the veil of "flor" might reduce or even disappear.

This might be due to natural causes or according to a decision taken by the head cellarman who fortifies them above the yeasts' maximum limit. If flor dies off in casks of a Fino that are more than 3 years old, this gives rise to the class of Sherry Wines known as AMONTILLADO, a jewel among the world's wines. If the flor dies sooner, the wine can only be used for a blended style (such as Medium) and cannot be used for Fino or Amontillado. In the case of Olorosos, fortified to over 17% vol., this higher strength impedes the development of the "flor" and this growth disappears. The wine is therefore in permanent and direct contact with the oxygen in the air. This ageing is known as oxidative or physical-chemical ageing. The Ageing of Sherry: the "Crianza" In the ageing cellars the wines repose organised according to their different degrees of ageing. The butts, or "botas" are lined up in rows on three or four different levels, each of which corresponds to a scale.

The lowest row or scale is known as "solera" (from the Spanish word suelo, or ground)* and contains the oldest wine. The butts in the row immediately above it, the primera criadera, or first nursery, contain wine somewhat younger than the row beneath and in the row above that, the second nursery, the wines are younger still. And so on until we reach the last and highest row. Wine for bottling is always drawn off from the ground-level butts ("solera") by an operation known as the saca. Only a small amount of wine is taken from each butt during the saca. Later, the wine extracted from the butts on the ground-level row is replaced by the same quantity of wine from the first nursery. This wine in turn is replaced with wine from the second nursery and so on up to the wines on the highest row of butts, which are finally blended with the new wines from the last harvest.

This operation is known in Jerez as "running the scales" and is usually carried out with implements called the "canoe" and the "sprinkler" [pictured below] so that the new wine drips into the butt little by little, as if it were dew, so that the "flor" protecting the wine will not be damaged. The ageing system of Sherry Wines is therefore a dynamic process and involves a methodical blending of the young wines with other, more mature wines in order for them to acquire gradually the fine qualities of old wines which have enjoyed many years of ageing. Although in exceptional cases some Sherry houses age their wines statically by a system of anadas, or vintages, the criaderas y solera method is indisputably the genuine ageing process for Sherry. The blending of wines originating from many different vintages means that it is impossible to refer to a specific year's harvest - sherry with a vintage added to the label must be a misnomer. But a sherry labelled Solera (say) 1990 purports to show that it comes from a group of butts laid down that year, and theoretically, there always remains an infinitesimal fraction of the original wine.

It is possible to establish an average age for the solera or ground-level wine based on a series of factors such as the number of scales or criaderas, the percentage of wine transferred every time the scales are run, or the frequency of the operation itself. The minimum ageing for a Sherry Wine is three years although it is frequently much longer. Specific types of wine only acquire their most genuine characteristics after decades of ageing. For this reason, the Denomination of Origin Regulatory Council allows certain Sherry Wines which are particularly old to include on their labels their average age. However, to obtain this privilege the bodega involved has to undergo a series of highly specific tests. When Sherry is finally bottled, the wine is clarified and filtered, put through cold stabilization, filtered, and bottled under inert gas. Sulphur dioxide is not used, except at the start of fermentation. *- no one quite knows how the word Solera came to stand for this complicated Jerez system of equalising wines.

One of the meanings of the word is a "plinth" and this might give some clue to the provenance of the word, for it has been argued that when the bodegas were formerly used as drinking rendezvous for the friends of the proprietor, guests used to ask for their next glass off the floor, i.e. from the lower butts on the scantling which were the best. Shop Australian Wine Terms & Conditions | Privacy All prices are stated in Australian dollars. Please note! Your browser must have cookies and javascript enabled to use our shopping basket technology effectively. Where a wine is marked SOLD OUT, this indicates that the wine is no longer available for sale. The tasting notes are still able to be viewed for historical purposes. Safe Secure Shopping. Our checkout is secured by the latest SSL Technology and uses Securepay's Payment Gateway. © 2017 Nicks Wine Merchants (Doncaster) Pty Ltd A.B.N. 19 826 635 151 A.C.N. 006 267 045 Packaged Liquor Licences - 32005543 Nicks Wine Merchants supports the responsible service of alcohol.

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Under the Liquor Control Reform Act 1998 it is against the law to supply alcohol to a person under the age of 18 years The Solera Wine Aging System - Winemaker's Academy | Winemaker's Academy The Solera Wine Aging System Home » Wine Making Process » The Solera Wine Aging System Solera aging is a system developed by the Spanish and Portuguese and is used in the production of Sherry and Port. Not only is this system complicated in nature, it’s a lot of work and takes a long time to realize the benefits of using it. A solera system is comprised of several “solera rows” stacked on top of each other. Each row is made up of many barrels. Wine moves from the top most row to the bottom most row before being bottled over the period of several years. This system is also referred to as “fractional blending” which will make more sense soon. How Solera Aging Works Barrels arranged in a solera fashion. Each solera row is a different stage in the process. The bottom layer is stage I, the last stage of the system. On top of stage I is the stage II solera row.

This continues on up to the highest stage number on top which contains the youngest wine. Most soleras contain five stages, however, really fine Ports and Sherry wines may be aged in soleras with upwards of eight or nine stages. Let’s use an example to show how this works in practice. Suppose you and I are making Sherry together and we have a five stage solera. Each stage has ten 100 gallon barrels (1000 gallons). Yes that’s an odd size but the numbers will be easier this way. Every year we make 500 gallons of wine. As soon as this wine has finished fermenting and clearing we bottle 500 gallons of stage I wine, 50 gallons from each barrel. Remember stage I is the bottom layer. With the stage I stuff bottled we rack 500 gallons from the stage II barrels into the stage I barrels. After that we rack 500 gallons from the stage III barrels into the stage II barrels. This continues on until each stage V barrel is sitting there half empty. At this point we’ll rack last year’s 500 gallons of wine into the stage V barrels. Our solera is not completely full again.

You never rack more than 50% of a barrel at one time. Some wineries will rack as little as 25% at a time. To make matters a little more complicated you don’t rack from one barrel straight into another barrel of the next stage. When we rack 50 gallons out of a single stage II barrel 5 gallons will go into each of the ten stage I barrels. Another way to do this would be to rack 50 gallons out of each stage II barrel into a large tank to allow them mix together before filling up the stage I barrels. This, of course, continues throughout each stage. Here’s a sketch of our solera to help you visualize this process. Read this from the bottom up. How Soleras Work (Click for a larger view) So now you can see why they call this fractional blending. A fraction of the wine that is racked out of a single barrel is fed into every other barrel. By doing this we are ensuring that the final product coming out of the stage I barrels is as uniform as possible. We can produce a consistent fine wine every single year even if we have an odd vintage here and there.

Ok, now to push this over the top, the highest quality solera aged wines are sometimes aged in a compound solera system. If you and I were to do this we would take our stage I wine from the solera described above and instead of bottling it we would rack it into a second solera system that is fed only by other soleras and not by any single vintage. According to the experts these secondary soleras usually contain at most three stages. Wow. It’s hard to imagine running a system like this. It must take some serious know how and probably a spreadsheet or two to keep track of all this. This begs the question…why bother? The interesting thing about the solera system is that the stage I wine you bottle contains (in our example case) wine that is five years old at the youngest. This wine, however, is mixed with wine that is as old as the system itself. So if we have been running this solera for fifty years the bottled wine will be mixture of every vintage made between five and fifty years ago. Because none of the barrels are ever completely drained and racked you can imagine that some small percentage of the wine is really old.

However, if you were to take a weighted average of the amount of wine from each vintage in the stage I barrels you would find that there is just a fraction of a percent of the original wine. The bulk of the wine will be newer and the weighted average may be around 10 years old. Vulnerabilities With all the mixing and blending in a system like this you’ve got to be really careful about contamination. If just one barrel goes bad the whole solera goes bad. Can you imagine a 10,000 gallon, 50 year old solera going down the drain because some vinegar bacteria got into a single barrel? That’ll keep you up at night for sure. If you’re making Sherry this way you should know that there are some pretty stringent guidelines with respect to wine chemistry. There are specific ranges for pH, alcohol content, and more. That is a topic to for another article however. Solera | Define Solera at Dictionary.com solera [soh-lair-uh; Spanish saw-le-rah] /soʊˈlɛər ə; Spanish sɔˈlɛ rɑ/ Spell noun 1.

(especially in Spain) a series of casks, graded according to age, in which sherries and brandies are stored while maturing. 2. a classification for the sherries or brandies having the greatest maturity in a solera. Origin of solera Expand < Spanish: literally, supporting beam, base (for uprights) < Vulgar Latin *solāria, equivalent to Latin sol(um) base, ground (> Spanish suelo) + -āria -ary ; Cf. vino de solera mature wine (presumably from the bottom range of casks) used to fortify younger wine Dictionary.com Unabridged solera - definition of solera in English | Oxford Dictionaries Definition of solera in English: solera noun 1[mass noun] A Spanish method of producing wine, especially sherry and Madeira, whereby small amounts of younger wines stored in an upper tier of casks are systematically blended with the more mature wine in the casks below.

Example sentences ‘The word manzanilla showed up in the Spanish language about 200 years ago, about the same time the solera system of making sherry began in Sanlúcar.’ ‘Sherry-style wines are also made in California though they usually do not go through a solera system and most are sweet.’ ‘The solera system consists of barrels stacked in tiers of 7-14, each row called a scale.’ ‘In general, sherries produced by the solera system with flor are termed fino sherries while those without flor are termed oloroso sherries.’ ‘Sherries develop their unique characteristics during aging in what has become known as the solera system.’ ‘The wine is then aged and the vintages blended following the same solera system used in Jerez for Sherry.’ ‘There are typically nine to 14 criaderas in a solera system although some manzanilla sherries can be made from as many as 19 tiers.’ ‘Even using modern pumps, a solera system is extremely labour-intensive and it is only in regions where labour costs are relatively moderate that a large solera is feasible.’ ‘The secret of sherry - one of the things that makes it unique in the world

 of wine - is the solera system by which it is made.’ ‘You'll see mentioned that some regions use the solera system for elaborating wines.’ ‘In the solera system, wine from many vintages is matured in the cellars in separate casks.’ 1.1[count noun] A blend of sherry or Malaga wine produced by the solera system.

Example sentences ‘A date on a label of solera wine is not the vintage of the actual wine, but the year that particular solera system was set up.’ ‘The night ended with this superb dessert wine, blended by master winemaker Phillip Ryan from old solera wines dating back to the 1930's.’ ‘Also, given that vintage Madeira is not cheap, the solera wines are priced so that a nineteenth century solera wine is much less expensive that a true vintage Madeira of the ‘base’ year.’ ‘But from the 17th century much of Huelva's production was sold to Jerez, where it was blended anonymously into sherry soleras.’ ‘Wines of all the Sherry categories are offered from soleras held by small producers who nurse these wines to perfection in small bodegas.’ ‘No more than 10 percent of a solera wine may be drawn off for sale in any year.’ ‘Sometimes solera wines are labeled with a vintage; this indicates when the solera was started, i.e.: 1805-a solera started 200 years ago.’ ‘There is a wide selection of Moscatels, from young wines to aged solera wines, which are

 jet black, aromatic and complex, with a slight bitterness of the palate that is balanced out by its natural sweetness.’ ‘We tasted some solera wines, together with some from Almacenistas Jurado and Zamorano.’ 1.2[count noun] A wine cask, typically one with a capacity of four hogsheads, on the bottom tier of the solera system and containing the oldest wine.

Example sentences Brandy de Jerez » Spanish Wine Region » CellarTours By Michael Schachner, Wine Enthusiast Magazine Picture the following scenario: It's the 1960's in Francisco Franco's Spain, and a truckdriver is preparing to haul his load of oranges from Valencia to Madrid . It may only be 8:00 am, but he adds a healthy nip of his country's brandy to his coffee, making a carajillo, as the combination is called. Or maybe he eschews the coffee altogether, and just takes the brandy solo. Throughout the day this scene is repeated . and repeated. A brief history of Brandy de Jerez Thirty years ago Spanish brandy functioned primarily as an anesthetic for truckers and other blue-collar stiffs. It was inexpensive brandy that got these hard-boiled men through their arduous days, explains Ricardo Rebuelta, director of the Consejo Regulador de la Denominación Brandy de Jerez, the regulatory body that oversees brandy production in this corner of Spain. But that was then. Since Franco died in 1975 almost everything in Spain has changed for the better.

Amid the national renaissance there has been a revitalization of the country's wine and spirits products, both globally and on the domestic front. Today Spanish wines are hot. And-at cigar bars and men's clubs, and in the parlors of spirits enthusiasts all over the world-so is Spanish brandy, particularly Brandy de Jerez, which accounts for 95 percent of Spain's brandy production. If ever there was a spirit with a spirited history, it's Brandy de Jerez, which is nurtured to maturity in the same region where Sherry is produced, predominantly by the same companies that make and bottle Sherry. Since the 16th century, decades after the Spanish had conquered the Moors and reclaimed Andalucía for their own, grape-based spirits have been distilled for commercial purposes in the southwestern part of the country. Yet the first appearance of Brandy de Jerez as we have come to know it wasn't until the 19th century; like many great inventions, serendipity played a starring role.

In the mid 1800's, the Dutch were going out of their way to purchase what they perceived to be high-grade Jerezano grape spirits to make their liqueurs called brandewijn, a name for "burnt wine" that was later transformed by the British into "brandy." As the story goes, an order for 500 barrels of raw spirit, called holanda because of its destination, was placed with the firm that would evolve into Pedro Domecq. When the order wasn't paid for, the fiery spirit was transferred into barrels, which incidentally had been used previously to store Sherry. For five years those barrels sat forgotten and untouched in Domecq's cellars, until one day a still master found the barrels and out of curiosity pulled a sample. Immediately he noticed that the color of the holanda had darkened from its normal water-like translucency, the aroma had richened and taken on Sherry notes, and the burn of the raw holanda had mellowed considerably.

Almost immediately Domecq seized upon formulating an alcohol reduction (adding distilled water worked best) and barrel-aging process for holanda, and by 1874 the company was bottling a barrel-aged Brandy de Jerez called Fundador. Soon after, other companies followed suit. Today Today, Brandy de Jerez is produced in three styles. At the high end of the ladder are the Solera Gran Reservas, which are aged for a minimum of three years in used Sherry casks, but almost always much longer, usually 10 to 15 years, with some components even older than that. Solera Reserva bottlings must spend at least one year in barrels, but quite often they age for two or more years in used Sherry butts. The most basic brandies are Solera bottlings, which require just six months of barrel aging after distillation. It was largely the Solera bottlings or lower-quality brandies made in northeast Spain that fueled the trucker-types of our earlier example.

But today much of the focus in the Jerez region is on the very best sipping brandies-Solera Gran Reservas like Cardenal Mendoza from Sanchez Romate, Conde de Osborne, Lepanto by Gonzalez Byass, Gran Duque d'Alba from Williams & Humbert, Carlos I of Pedro Domecq, and Hidalgo 200. These bottlings stem from the highest-quality distillates and are worthy of comparison with an X.O. Cognac or an aged Armagnac. And they carry price tags that qualify them as serious spirits-about $45 a bottle. Solera Gran Reservas are, to say the least, robust, masculine brandies. In Wine Enthusiast's most recent review of five major brands (see box below), spirits tasting director Gary Regan found a fairly wide range in quality, but also many similar characteristics among the brandies: walnut to mahogany colors; aromas of cloves and citrus zest; flavors of oloroso Sherry, prunes and raisins; and long, dry finishes. Personally, I find the spirits to be strong, almost hot. To a bottling, Solera Gran Reservas are loaded with coffee, vanilla and chocolate character.

With a fine cigar after an equally fine and filling meal, a Brandy de Jerez Solera Gran Reserva is an appropriate choice-different but by no means a step down from the best Cognacs and Armagnacs of France. Fortunately for the makers of Brandy de Jerez, brandy's reversal of fortune has not been confined to the world of snifters and stogies. In a multitude of Spanish-speaking countries around the world, as well as in more casual settings like bars and nightclubs, Brandy de Jerez is frequently being served as an everyday libation, usually on the rocks with Coke or ginger ale. In these cases, $20 Solera Reserva brands like Osborne's Magno or Domecq's Carlos III are becoming increasingly popular, as are even less expensive Solera brands like Soberano (Gonzalez Byass) and that seminal marque, Fundador. Brandy de Jerez is also enjoying success in the kitchen, as its rich aromas and flavors add depth to a multitude of soups and sauces. Just try adding a tablespoon or two of Brandy de Jerez to your homemade cream of mushroom soup and you may never again cook without it.

Understanding Brandy de Jerez In the 19th century, when the Spanish were just becoming efficient in the art of distilling, producers used mainly pot stills modeled after the alquitara stills left behind by their Arab predecessors. Today, economics require that continuous column stills be used to produce large quantities of high-alcohol distillate for the more basic brandies. But the best bottlings, certainly the Solera Gran Reservas, are still derived from character-packed distillates that come from old-fashioned copper alquitaras-stills that must be loaded with wine each time they're used and then cleaned out after every batch. For decades, maybe longer, the grape of choice for brandy distillation was the local Palomino, the same grape that is used for Sherry. But today, once again for economic reasons, producers of Brandy de Jerez have turned to the arid plains of La Mancha for their raw spirit. The grape they use is almost always Airén, an acidic, large-crop white grape.

Distillation takes place near the vineyards, after which the clear holanda (yes, the name is still used to describe a high-grade and very flavorful wine distillate of about 65 percent alcohol) is transported to the Jerez region and put into large oak barrels. There the holanda sits, usually for a few years, until it is deemed ready for alcohol reduction (to about 40-44 percent ABV) and maturation in the same type of solera and criadera system used for Sherry. When you pour yourself a snifter of fine Brandy de Jerez, one of the first things you notice is the dark, almost black-coffee color of the brandy. Unlike lighter-colored Cognac or Armagnac, both of which spend some time in new French oak casks, Brandy de Jerez is aged entirely in 500-liter American oak barrels that previously held Sherry. The barrels are largely neutral and fairly porous, which allows for subtle oxidation and maturation; hence the dark color of many long-aged Solera Gran Reserva brandies. The barrels also impart flavor and body.

A barrel that was once part of a fino solera will impart a finer, leaner, sharper quality to the brandy, whereas a butt that contained an oloroso or sweet Sherry will impart richness. The strong characteristic of vanilla in the bouquet and on the palate is the result of the interaction between the alcohol in the brandy and the chemical compounds in the wood. But even more important than the barrels themselves is the unique system of aging the brandy after the holanda has been diluted. As with Sherry, aging is done in a dynamic solera consisting of multiple rows of barrels called criaderas. Each criadera contains brandy of a different age, with the youngest labeled criadera one, and the oldest labeled criadera seven, eight, even 20 or 25, depending on how many criaderas the producer wants to maintain. When it is time to take brandy for bottling, a fraction of the oldest criadera's contents, sometimes as much as one-third, is removed. Somewhat confusingly, the oldest criadera is referred to as the solera, the same term that is applied to the whole aging system.

Once brandy has been removed from the "solera" criadera for bottling, brandy from the next oldest criadera is taken to replace what has been taken out. That procedure is then repeated up the line, with, for example, a portion of criadera two fortifying criadera three, and ultimately criadera one receiving a new batch of holanda. The movement of the maturing spirit from criadera to criadera is why it's called a dynamic aging system. The logic behind the solera system is that when a younger brandy is blended into an older one, the younger one acquires the flavor and character of the older brandy. Aeration and accelerated oxidization also occur when brandies are moved from one criadera to the next. The ultimate goal in solera aging is to create complexity, richness and softness in the brandy, something that exists in all of the Solera Gran Reserva brandies I sampled when visiting the Jerez region earlier this year.

Should you visit Andalucía and the so-called Sherry Triangle, you will want to stroll through the cavernous bodegas in the center of Jerez, where you will see firsthand the 12-foot-high brandy soleras sitting elbow to elbow with barrels holding Sherry. The vaulted mosque-like bodegas of the old-school producers are all very well ventilated. They also have sand floors, which can be wet down during the sweltering summers to ensure proper humidity and to control the temperature within the bodegas. And just like with Sherry, it is in these bodegas that the master blenders work their magic. "What is it that makes one brandy different from another?" asked Luís Díez, rhetorically, as we toured Sanchez Romate's Cardenal Mendoza bodega in Jerez. "It's the blending, knowing when and how much to take from each criadera, and which barrels to use." Connect with Cellar Tours: Sherry production process | SherryNotes Published on December 4th, 2013 | by Ruben 2 Sherry production process I know a lot of people out there are still struggling with the different types of sherry.

Why is a Fino different from an Amontillado or a Pedro Ximénez , or what makes a Pale Cream different from a regular Cream ? To get a detailed insight, we would need to explain how each type is made and how the production process differs from other types. We’ll get into this further, but I’ve already tried to sum it up in a little diagram. Note that there are seven columns and each column shows the flow of one specific type of sherry: Now let’s explain the separate steps of the sherry production process: Grapes, harvesting and pressing Basically it starts with the grape variety. All dry sorts of sherry wines are produced from the Palomino grape (also referred to as Listán). It thrives well on the typical albariza soils of the Jerez area. These grapes are harvested fresh and they are pressed almost immediately. Usually this is done in different stages, each with a different pressure and different specifications of the resulting mosto or must. The first pressing (primera yema) produces the best grape juice, the last is only suited for distilling into brandy. For naturally sweet wines, two other varieties are used: Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel.

These are left outside in the Andalusian sun for several hours to several days until the grapes lose some of their moisture and have a higher relative sweetness. The grapes will resemble raisins when they are crushed – higher pressure is needed. Fermentation After filtering the musts, correcting the pH and treatment with sulphur dioxide to prevent bacterial contamination, the grape juices will start to ferment naturally. In the old days this was done in wooden barrels ( Valdespino still produces its wines that way) but nowadays most bodegas use huge stainless steel tanks that are heated to 23-25°C. Usually a small amount of already fermenting must (pie de cuba) will be added to speed up the initial process. After that, two phases of fermentation (tumultuous and slow fermentation) take place. Musts of Palomino grapes will keep fermenting until nearly all of the available sugars are processed into alcohol – this will lead to a “base wine” ready around the end of Autumn. On the other hand the fermentation of the PX and Moscatel musts will be cut off early in the process by bringing it to 10% alcohol, in order to retain a lot of the sugars.

The wine is left to settle during the winter months and it is then fortified to its final strength. At the end of the fermentation process, a layer of flor will naturally occur on these base wines, due to the specific climate conditions of the Jerez area. Fortification and classification After fermentation the lees will be filtered off and the musts will be classified. The finest, most delicate examples will be fortified to 15 – 15,4% vol. alcohol by adding neutral grape spirit (produced in the La Mancha region, from Airén grapes). The delicate musts are intended for biological ageing, i.e. ageing under a layer of flor, without contact to oxygen. It is called biological because it is the natural way. The slightly courser base wines, which show a less elegancy at this stage, will be fortified to 17 – 18% vol. alcohol. This kills any existing flor and will make sure it doesn’t come back. From that moment, the wine will mature in an oxidative way, with contact to the surrounding air. The result will be an Oloroso. Naturally sweet wines will always be fortified to a higher degree as flor is not wanted in this type of sherry.

Ageing in a solera After the first fortification and a short maturation, the base wines or sobretablas will be classified again. The different categories will then enter a solera, an array of barrels that are arranged in a certain hierarchical way, with the younger wines partially replacing the older wines that are taking out. This is explained in our article about the solera system . Biological ageing will result in a Fino or Manzanilla depending on the location, while oxidative ageing will produce an Oloroso . In accordance with the Regulations of the Denomination of Origin the ageing of sherry wines must last at least two years (three until recently), enough time to allow the wines to develop the distinctive characteristics of each type. Nowadays the preferred type of cask is the American oak 600 litre butt, also known as a bodega butt. It is never filled to the top, thus creating a surface area upon which the flor may develop. Note that along the way, the veil of flor can die and wines that started their life as a Manzanilla or Fino can gradually shift towards oxidative maturation.

This can occur after a certain age (because the nutrients in the base wine that keep the flor alive have been consumed) or because the cellarmaster decides to fortify the wine again an deliberatly kill the flor. This produces the intermediate types of sherry: Amontillado and Palo Cortado (technically similar wines but with slightly different aromatic properties). Saca and bottling When sherry is taken out of the final stage of the solera (called the saca), it will usually be filtered and cold stabilized to make sure the wine will keep most of its features until it is opened (although there is a shift towards minimal post-processing these days, see en rama sherry ). Also, as sherry has a defined minimum strength, it can be fortified again in order to meet a certain alcohol volume. It will also be blended: the output of different casks is put together and mixed. After these steps, the wine can be put in bottles and distributed to different parts of the world.

Note that there are naturally dry sherries as well as naturally sweet sherries ( Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel ), but it’s also possible to artificially sweeten sherry wines after maturation, by adding a kind of raisin syrup or by blending a dry wine with a naturally sweet sherry like Pedro Ximénez. This produces wines that are labeled Pale Cream, Medium, Cream or Dulce . Sometimes these sweetened wines are put back into barrels in order to ‘marry’ the different components, and they are only bottled after a while. ps/ Thanks to Denis Shumakov for giving me the idea of a flowchart. If only I could read Cyrillic… Tags: ageing , blending , bottling , diagram , fermentation , flowchart , fortification , harvesting , maturation , production , sherry , solera , steps About the Author Ruben fell in love with sherry fifteen years ago, but switched to a higher gear in 2013 and started writing about it. Lived in Madrid for a couple of years, now back in Belgium.

I also run a whisky blog over at Related Posts Solera - Tackitt Family Vineyards Solera You are here: Home / Solera Our Solera The history of aging wine in a solera dates back to the early Spaniards. It is an age-old blending and maturation system used to maintain a style consistency in some fortified wines. It is used most notably in Spain’s sherry industry. What is solera? The solera system consists of a stock of wine in barrels, each of a different year of development. The final stage of finished wine is called the solera. The supporting steps, or scales, are called criaderas (Spanish for nursery). At bottling, 10 to 30% of the wine is drawn from the solera, which is replaced by wine from earlier barrels, which are a little younger and less complex. You never completely empty the solera; there is always wine from preceding years left inside the barrel. With this process, the old wine infuses the younger wine with depth and character. From there, you continue to transfer wine from the younger barrels to the older barrels until the youngest criadera is refreshed with new wine. (This is usually done yearly).

There can be differences in the number of scales from the starting criadera to the solera. This is largely dependent on the style of the finished wine the wine maker wishes to produce. For example: eight barrels can be used instead of six. We at Tackitt Family Vineyards have adopted this aging process to produce our Dream Tyme Dessert Wine. We use late harvest Zinfandel grapes grown west of HWY 101 near Templeton, California and add a splash of Petite Syrah for that added touch of color. Dream Tyme was established in 2002 by dessert winemaker Scott English. As the years continue to pass by, the solera will only increase in its complexity and depth. Currently, our solera consists of 6 barrels, or 5 criaderas and one solera. As Tackitt Family Vineyards grows, so will our solera with new criaderas being added each year.

Tackitt Family Vineyards on Facebook Upcoming Events Bacardi 1873 Ron Solera Rum | liquorlick.com Bacardi 1873 Ron Solera Rum Bacardi 1873 Ron Solera Rum is an interesting change of pace from the makers of one of the most mass produced, highly available rums in the world. Bacardi 1873 Ron Solera Rum This rum is made using the Solera system of aging, which is a method borrowed from the world of Sherry. Essentially, new batches of rum are mixed with older batches of rum each year, year after year. The longer the solera has been going on, the older the oldest alcohol in the mix will be. That being said, I do not know how long the solera has going on for this rum. I have heard many reports that it has been available for sale in the Caribbean for roughly the past decade, so I would guess the solera has been running for at least that long. As soon as I unscrewed the top of the bottle, I could smell this rum. Strangely enough, the odor does not seem very typical for a rum, but rather more like a sherry.

It is possible that this is due to the solera system, but that is just a guess on my part. The odor is somewhat overwhelmingly sweet, with a syrupy honey quality. In the glass, the rum is a medium dark amber color, very similar to many of the heavier scotches. The flavor is just as sherry like as the nose, with a sort of sickly sweet burning quality. It also tingles, almost as if it were carbonated. Despite that, it is surprisingly smooth, more towards the smooth side of the scale than the harsh. There is a caramelized sugar note that lingers in the mouth. I’m not entirely certain what I think of this rum; there are many other rums that are far better for sipping, not least of which is the Barbancourt 8 year I reviewed earlier. As a mixing rum, Bacardi 1873 Ron Solera would add some interesting qualities. However, I think it would be a bit less expensive to approximate the same taste by mixing a less expensive rum with a dash or two of sherry. The more I sip it, though, the more I find the taste growing on me. This entry was posted in Rum . Bookmark the permalink .

Question: What is produced in a Solera?
Answer: Sherry